


A Golden Heart

by theolrazzledazzle



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Book 1: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Gen, May Become a Series, generally going to be pretty innocent, generally just an au, i don't really know yet - Freeform, if it becomes a series the books may change rating to reflect the content of the specific age group, we'll see
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-06
Updated: 2019-03-01
Packaged: 2019-07-25 20:40:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 10,766
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16205264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theolrazzledazzle/pseuds/theolrazzledazzle
Summary: It had been six months since James, Lily, and Peter’s deaths, six months since Sirius had been imprisoned for his murder and betrayal of his best friends, no, his family. Remus was the only one left but if there was anything he wasn’t going to let happen is that he wasn’t going to let Harry lose his last real connection to his family. If Harry was raised by Petunia and Vernon god knows that he wouldn’t be able to see him or even know about the wizarding world until he reached the age of 11. And then he wouldn’t be Uncle Moony, he would be Mr. Lupin.So Remus fought the ministry, he fought Dumbledore, hell, he fought himself. He would never convince the world that he could care for Harry if he couldn’t convince himself. And so finally he got the ministry to agree, he showed that he had a place with adequate space for a child, a stable job, a responsible person who would watch over Harry for the duration of the full moon, and finally he had to agree to yearly check-ins from ministry officials for the next five calendar years.But, finally, he had Harry. He had a family. He had hope.





	1. 1

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own the Harry Potter world, characters, or plotline this merely my attempt to right some wrongs and occasionally wrong some rights.

It was June when Harry finally received his Hogwarts letter and Remus was terrified. Not because of the price of supplies or the distance or even Harry for himself, but because people would pay attention to Harry and after years of gossip articles from Rita Skeeter Harry had become weary of being in the public eye and when he got to Hogwarts the eyes of the greater public would be on him. Students would be writing their friends and family back home stories about Harry’s behavior, appearance, and even just false rumors that always spread at Hogwarts.   
Harry’s life would be more public than ever before and Remus wasn’t sure Harry would be able to stay calm through all of that. The boy may look like his parents and maybe he even acts like them sometimes, but more than anything he is Harry and he had been raised to remember that it is always okay to be just himself and not the Boy Who Lived.

When Harry told Remus he didn’t like people staring at him so often he had began altering both his and Harry’s appearance whenever they were both out in public to allow the boy an extra layer of privacy. Harry had never looked so calm in public as when he was freckled boy with mousy hair compared to a boy with jet black hair and a pale scar that stood out against his skin. Remus wished Harry were able to look so calm without an altered appearance but he couldn’t really blame the boy either.

When the letter arrived Harry agreed to go in public as himself if only to ensure that the his robes fit properly and that there wouldn’t be gossip articles bearing titles the likes of “Harry Potter Not Attending Hogwarts!” or “The Boy Who Lived or The Boy Who Fled?”. 

So, when August rolled around after avoiding the trip as long as Remus could responsibly allow they made their way to Diagon Alley and if only to comfort Harry they took muggle transport and crossed through the Leaky Cauldron to handle their shopping. After being stopped a couple of times and politely excusing themselves with a smile, Harry and Remus were able to make it to Ollivander’s to purchase Harry’s wand.

When they entered the shop they both absorbed the feeling of pure magic in the are before a quiet voice interrupted them.

“Mr. Potter, Mr. Lupin, at last, I’ve been expecting you.”

“Yes, well, it’s time for Harry to get ready to head of to Hogwarts.”

“Of course, Remus how is your wand treating you after all these years? 10 ¼ inches, unicorn hair and cypress correct? Quite pliable?”

“It’s still holding strong, though admittedly it doesn’t see nearly as much action as it used to.” Remus responded with a laugh.

“Yes, yes, things have been quiet recently but there are always whispers.” Ollivander muttered before turning to Harry and saying “Which is your wand arm?”

Harry politely responded by saying “My right arm, sir.”

“Oh, no need for such formalities Mr. Potter.” he said as his tape measure was recording Harry’s measurements freely although it was really just for show.

“Please, just call me Harry.”

After a moment Ollivander snapped his fingers and the tape measure dropped to the floor and he arrived with a wand with an intricate ivy design spiralling around the handle.

“Go on, give it a try.” 

And so Harry waved the wand and sent a set of scorch marks up the wall.

Ollivander plucked the wand from Harry’s hand and returned with a smaller and far simpler wand for Harry to try, but once again it was a failure and left the display in the window spread all over the room. 

Things continued this way for what felt like an hour before Ollivander looked as if he had just had an unwanted revelation and made his way to the back of the store muttering before returning and passing Harry, the wand. 

This time when Harry reluctantly waved the wand there was a warm glow that filled the room leaving Harry with a small smile on his face.

“How peculiar…” Ollivander trailed off catching Remus’ attention from Harry. 

“What’s peculiar?” Remus asked with a stressed expression crossing his face.

“The phoenix whose feather is in that wand gave only one other feather, that found its way into the wand that gave Mr. Potter here that scar.”

“And what could that mean for Harry?”

“That he is destined for greatness.”

Remus wanted to ask more but he could see stress finding its way onto Harry’s face as well and quickly paid for the wand and delivered Harry and himself to Madam Malkin’s to get some robes. There they saw the Malfoy heir and after a polite but admittedly tense conversation between Harry and Draco they reached an agreement that Remus would quickly take care of the rest of the shopping while Harry got his school books as well as a few others to take with him to school.

When Harry got inside the store he found himself quickly squeezing through the crowds to gather the school books before ushering himself past to the magizoology shelves where he found a curious girl with pale hair and eyes that seemed to take up quite a bit of her face. 

“Hello,” she said in a breezy and strangely reassuring voice.

“Hello,” Harry said back politely.

“You have loads of nargles floating around your head right now.” she said as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

“They’re little creatures that go in your ears and make your brain all fuzzy. Daddy ran an article on them in the Quibbler this month, I can send you a copy so that you can put together a repellent if you like?” she said in what would likely have been a matter-of-fact tone had she seemed a bit more grounded. 

“I would appreciate that, I’m Harry.” he said knowingly omitting his last name.

“I’m Luna.” she said with a kind smile, “Have you read Marge Jordan’s new book on Horklumps? It’s really quite fascinating.”

“Not yet, I was actually going to grab a copy to read when I get to Hogwarts. Are you going to be going this year?”

“No, I’m not going to go until next year but it gives me more time to study my own interests so I don’t particularly mind.”

“Ah, that sucks, though maybe we could write each other?”

“That sounds lovely. Would you like a hand in getting your books over to the counter?”

“That would actually be a great help, thanks.”

“It’s no problem at all.” 

They had made there way too the counter for Harry to pay when a strangely dressed walked over and hugged Luna tightly.

“Luna, I’ve been looking everywhere!”

“Sorry Daddy, I met Harry here looking for books and I thought I’d give him a hand. I’m going to be sending him your article on Nargles so that he can get rid of his.” 

“Okay, please just let me know next time. I didn’t find you where you normally are and it worried me.” He said, voice shaking.

“I’m sorry Mr.?” Harry began attempting an apology for giving Luna a reason to cause her father worry.

“Lovegood, it’s quite alright Harry, it’s a simple mistake no harm done.”

“Ah, still, I didn’t mean to cause you any stress.”

After they had all finally paid for their books Harry waited outside with the Lovegoods looking quite out of place with the pale pair until Remus came by with the bag of shrunken down school supplies. After exchanging pleasantries the group agreed to have lunch together the next Saturday and went their separate ways with Remus merely happy to see that Harry might not be so alone.


	2. Chapter 2

Before too long that Saturday arrived and both Harry and Remus were hurriedly cleaning the mess left from their breakfast that morning with Harry hurriedly doing the dishes and Remus scrubbing the counters (he insisted that reliance on magic meant that you weren’t capable of caring for yourself). 

So the two boys quickly finished up their respective chores and as much as Remus wanted to prepare the meal ahead of time Harry insisted that it would be more fun if they all prepared the meal together, manners be damned, although admittedly without the profanity. 

It was another few hours before the Lovegoods were to arrive and Harry was practically buzzing with energy as he read Hanging with Horklumps sooner than he had planned so he could talk about it with Luna that day. Little did Harry know that Luna herself was currently bouncing around her room carrying a new necklace for Harry so he wouldn’t have to prepare his own nargle repellant (she had more practice and it was better safe than sorry afterall). To both of the children two o’clock couldn’t arrive fast enough and the two men could barely disguise their amusement at the children’s antics.

When the father-daughter duo finally knocked on the door Harry practically knocked Remus out of his chair rushing to get the door where he hugged Luna as a greeting, practically knocking her off her feet much to Xenophilius’ amusement. 

“I thought we could all cook lunch together! Of course if you don’t want to that’s fine but I thought-”

“That sounds like great fun, Harry.” Luna interrupted with that same serene smile that seemed to always rest on her face.

“Do you guys like salads?” 

“Oh absolutely! Fresh foods help attract good fortune.” Luna said, wandering off with Harry towards the kitchen while Remus and Xenophilius greeted each other with a warm smile and friendly handshake. 

So the two men set to slicing the vegetables and the children took to assembling everyone’s plates and the group was sat on the floor eating within half an hour. 

“I can’t believe she was so cruel as to begin poking and prodding at the Horklumps with needles just to see what would happen!” Harry exclaimed.

“They can clearly feel pain! It’s dreadful to treat any living creature in such a way!” Luna agreed quickly, as it hadn’t taken long for the pair to begin ranting about the terrible treatment of magical creatures in wizarding society.

Meanwhile, Remus and Xeno were sat back discussing the recent break-in to Gringotts the day before. 

“I mean, I know that nothing is impossible, but getting in and out of Gringotts unseen is about as close as it gets.” Remus said.

“Yes, yes, it seems we will soon see an end to these quiet times.” Xeno replied quietly.

“If only there was a way to keep the children as far from this mess as possible, at the very least, I’ll see how this year goes for Harry. But, I swear to Merlin, if anything remotely dangerous happens I’m transferring Harry to Beaxbatons next year.”

“Ditto, Remus. I won’t even wait if your Harry gets caught up in something I have a feeling Luna will too and it would be safer for her to be away from the danger at Hogwarts.”

“Thank god, I decided to put Harry through tutoring as a child so he understands French regardless.”

“Why did you?”

“Lily had always insisted that she wanted Harry to be able to speak a second language just in case an escape was necessary.”

“I see, it’s quite lovely of you to uphold those wishes.”

“They were my family, they did so much for me… if I didn’t watch after Harry I’m not sure I could live with myself.”

“That’s quite understandable.” Xeno said allowing him and Remus to fall into a peaceful silence to watch their kids begin to put away their plates and rush to the back garden to search for gnomes.

When the Lovegoods finally took their leave Harry had a new necklace hanging from his neck and Luna with flowers braided into her hair that weren’t there when she arrived.

Only a couple weeks had passed but Harry and Remus were in a cab on their way to King’s Cross. They had both silently agreed to muggle transport as a way to delay the inevitable goodbye that neither was really prepared for. Of course, Harry was looking forward to seeing Aunt Minnie and Hagrid but he still wasn’t ready to say goodbye to Remus until December. 

When they found their way to the platform they were greeted with an unexpected surprise, Luna and Xenophilius were stood there with friendly smiles and Luna was holding a stack of old copies of the Quibbler. 

“What a lovely surprise” Remus said shaking Xeno’s hand while Harry and Luna hugged each other.

“Yes, I thought this morning it would be nice to give Luna and Harry a chance to say goodbye before Harry was off for the next few months.”

“I’m glad you did, Harry was actually talking about all the letters he was going to write Luna just this morning.”

“I brought you some of my favorite issues to keep you busy on the train ride.” Luna said in that consistently breezy tone of hers.

“Thanks! I’m going to need to start getting the new issues from you as well! How much does it cost usually? I can’t just keep taking free copies from you.” 

“Oh, don’t you worry about it Harry, you’re my friend I don’t want you to have to worry about paying, it’s on me.”

“Luna, has anyone ever told you how amazing you are?”

“Not particularly but thank you.”

“No need-”

“Last call for the Hogwarts Express!”

“Oh! I’m sorry I’ve gotta go! I promise I’ll write as soon as I get there!” Harry said rushing to hug Remus and Luna and shake hands with Xeno.

With that Harry just barely made it onto the train with his trunk before the Express took off and he was left wondering what the future held for him.


	3. Chapter 3

Normally Harry would have had Remus to hide behind when it came to find somewhere to sit and people to talk to, but the Hogwarts express was a whole new world for the young boy and, quite frankly, he didn’t know quite what to make of it. So, he begged an older student, Oliver, to help him lift his trunk up the storage bin before wandering the corridor looking for a place to sit. 

Harry was walking for a fairly uncomfortable amount of time, not because of the distance, but because of the awkwardness. Finally, Harry worked up the courage to stop at a compartment and ask to join them. In the compartment he saw a young girl with a wild mane of hair and dark brown eyes to complement her complexion and an awkward looking young boy with ruffled blond hair and nervous hazel eyes.

“Is it alright if I join you guys?” Harry said, almost too quietly to be noticed.

“Of course, I’m Hermione Granger.” said the girl, in a tone that dared anyone to challenge her.

“I’m Neville Longbottom.” the boy said politely.

“I’m Harry.” he said once again leaving out his last name purposefully but it seemingly went unnoticed by the other two who simply smiled and restarted their conversation this time including Harry.

“So, Harry, what house do you think you’ll be in?” Hermione asked after a few moments.

“I don’t suppose I know, most of my family has been Gryffindor but I don’t really know if it’s the place for me.” 

“It’s the same for me really, my Nan is determined on me being a Gryffindor like my mum and dad though.” Neville said.

“I don’t have any real history seeing as I’m a muggle born but I don’t think I would mind Gryffindor or Ravenclaw.” Hermione said, very matter-of-factly .

“If I’m being honest I think Hufflepuff would be quite nice. I think I could get along quite nicely there, besides they really seem to have the best qualities.” Harry said, comfortable to speak while people were free of biases for just a moment.

“That’s fair enough.” Neville said and Hermione hummed in agreement. 

And so the train ride went on peacefully and the awkward conversation turned quickly into dorky giggles about chocolate frog cards and what the sorting would be like. Luckily Hermione had Harry and Neville there to reassure her that it wasn’t really a test and that she didn’t need to have anything memorized for the sorting. 

After about half an hour the trolley witch pushed the cart by and Harry got just enough chocolate frogs for everyone to have some and to still have one to send Remus when the next moon rolled around. He didn’t really know why but Remus always gave him chocolate when he was sad or hurt and so Harry and picked up the same habit and always made sure to have some to give him whenever he got home.

Overtime they had gotten into their own way of doing things, a way that Remus could only pray that James and Lily would approve of. 

Remus had hardly been home a few hours when he was startled by an owl at the window. It couldn’t be from Harry, the sorting hadn’t happened yet and their certainly hadn’t been enough time for an owl to reach him even from the train.

Curiously he let the owl in and it dropped a package at his feet with a distinctly pleased expression on its face. 

Remus set out some food and water for the owl and before quickly opening the package to find a letter in handwriting that was all too familiar despite the passage of time. 

With shaky hands Remus opened the letter to find a handwritten letter from James and a journal that had previously belonged to Lily. Remus dropped onto the couch with a strangled sob and stayed that way for what felt like a century but couldn’t have been more than an hour before he had finally managed to read the letter. 

Moony,  
This letter is meant to find its way to whichever of our dearest Marauders gains custody of Harry should something happen to Lily and I. Of course, there are really only two options and that’s you and Sirius because Wormy is our secret keeper but luckily this will probably never see the light of day.   
Anywho the point is we wanted to tell you that we love you, and we want to thank you for taking care of Harry when we couldn’t. If this is reaching you it’s on his first day at Hogwarts and we won’t be there to see him onto the Express. We just want him to know that it doesn’t matter if he’s a Slytherin, Gryffindor, or a bloody squib, no matter what we’ll always, ALWAYS, love him.   
It’s been a rough time quite honestly, I knew with the war going on there was always going to be the risk, that there was always a chance that we would go young. But it never really hit me how much more there was for me to lose until Lily and I had Harry. I pray to Merlin that we make it to see Harry grow up.  
And, Moony, there’s something we should have told you when we were around, but Dumbledore said we should try to limit the number of people who know. Anyway, um, Harry along with Frank and Alice’s boy have been marked by a prophecy. Of course you getting this means that Harry was the one chosen in the end. The whole point of it is that basically, Harry is going to be the one destined to defeat Voldemort once and for all. We don’t know how or why anyone could mark any child to have such a fate, but it’s how it is I suppose.   
I know you’ve already done more than we could rightfully ask of you but please if you can just do one last thing for us, don’t let Harry do this alone. God knows anyone else, even Dumbledore would probably set Harry up to be raised for slaughter. Not that I think they’d do it with ill intentions but the last thing I want is Harry to fight this war unprepared.   
Moony, please just take care of Harry and yourself.

Love,   
James


	4. Chapter 4

In what seemed like no time at all the Hogwarts Express had reached its final destination and all of the first years were gathered up by a man Harry knew to be Hagrid from when xxx would babysit him. Harry was merely happy to see a friendly face as he walked toward what he deemed to be the first day of the rest of his life.

The group carefully made their way to the boats where they were joined in their boat by a redhead who introduced himself as “Ron, Ron Weasley”. Slowly the boats made their way along and Neville had narrowly avoided falling out of the boat when Harry and Ron grabbed his elbows while Hermione focused on steadying the boat. Eventually though they found themselves at the entrance to the castle and began to make their way towards the sorting hat. 

“How do you think they do it? I asked my brothers and they said you have to fight a troll.” Ron asked. 

“Well, don’t laugh, but they actually just use a hat from Godric Gryffindor that was charmed to sort people.” said Harry.

“Every time! You know when I was younger they turned my favorite teddy bear into a spider!” 

“It’s okay Ron, here you’ll always have someone to watch your back.”

“Thanks, Harry.”

“It’s no problem.”

And so they continued to talk amongst themselves for several minutes before they heard a voice call out , “Hello, we are ready for you in the Great Hall, your sorting will begin in a moment. I will call your name, and when you take your place on the stool I will place the hat on your head and you will be sorted into your house. Your house will be like your family here at Hogwarts good behavior and you can earn your house points and bad behavior can lose points. I expect you’ll be on your best behavior here at Hogwarts.”

After a moment Professor McGonagall (Harry thought the name with a grin) ushered the students into the hall to begin the ceremony.

“Bones, Susan” McGonagall called out. 

The hat thought for hardly a moment before calling out “HUFFLEPUFF” In a gruff voice that rang through the Great Hall.

Quite honestly Harry got distracted by the ceiling and the candles halfway through the sorting and quickly began paying attention when he heard Hermione’s name called.

It didn’t take long for the hat to place her in Gryffindor where she ran with a grin to join the other first years that had already taken their seats.

Pretty soon, Neville was in Gryffindor as well, and Harry began trying to steady his breathing anticipating his turn to have his name called. By the time McGonagall called his name he had almost not heard her but he quickly took his place on the stool and had the Sorting Hat blocking out the light from his eyes and muttering about in his head. 

“Pretty loyal I see, not a bad head on your shoulders and a good bit of courage. But where to put you, Harry Potter?”

“Please, not you too, can’t I just be Harry?”

“Alright, Harry, I know exactly where to put you....HUFFLEPUFF!”

At this the Hufflepuff table erupted into cheers and the other houses politely clapped although mostly out of shock. Quickly though Harry took his seat next to Susan Bones and watched the rest of the sorting with a smile on his face just imagining the letter he would be writing to Remus. 

Little did Harry know Remus himself was sitting next to Susan’s aunt showing her the letter he received from James and Lily via Gringotts and was demanding a retrial for Sirius while trying to make sense of what all this meant for Harry. 

“Remus, I don’t think we can call it a retrial.”

“Why not? You’re the head of Magical Law Enforcement!”  
“We can’t call it a retrial because according to his record there never was a trial.”

“What? That can’t be allowed can it?”

“Not that I know of but I think as far as anyone was concerned he was as good as guilty the moment the Potters died.”

“Is there anything we can do?”

“I can present the letter to the court as new evidence in the case of Sirius Black. Of course if I do that there is a chance that the evidence could be destroyed by the ministry. The better option here is to send the letter to Harry, as soon as possible with a letter from you and then I would immediately take it to the prophet. Specifically Rita Skeeter, she may not be the greatest person but she is damn good at her job and getting readers.”

“So, this is as much as you can help?” 

“Until there’s a public knowledge and support of a retrial there isn’t anything I can do that I am positive can give him a chance.”

“Alright thank you for taking the time to see me so late Amelia.”

“Oh, anytime Remus. You and Harry really should drop by for tea with Susan and I sometime.” 

“That would be amazing, I’ll leave you to your work now.”

“Goodnight Remus.” Amelia said with a fond smile on her face.

“G’night Amelia.” Remus said kindly before closing her door and making his way back to write to Harry.

Dear Harry, 

I’m sending off this letter the night of your sorting because something completely unexpected came up regarding your godfather and parents. Normally I would do my best to avoid stressing you out with things like this especially at the start of school but I’m afraid to free Sirius I’d have to publish the other letter I’ve enclosed, but I couldn’t do that without letting you see it first.

In the end Harry I won’t do anything with this letter if you don’t want me to. The letter may be to me but I know you dread the public eye and everything to do with it so I’ll let you make the decision on where we go from here. 

You better be taking care of yourself and eating more than just sweets over there. The house elves don’t cook all of that food for nothing.

Love,   
Moony

 

With that, Remus sent an owl to Hogwarts and had the most restless sleep he’d had in months.


	5. Chapter 5

Quickly Harry’s new housemates began talking about their home lives and what they thought the classes would be like.

Susan was raised by her Aunt Amelia, her parents had passed on during the war unfortunately. Many people’s had but that didn’t make it any less tragic, but like so many other children it was what she knew. 

Before too long, Harry had come to find that he quite liked some of his classmates already and wouldn’t really mind if they were who he spent the next several years with. 

Not to mention the feast, mountains of potatoes any way you could imagine, fresh rolls, roast beef, pumpkin juice, and butterbeer smuggled in beneath the fifth years robes and warmed while the teachers pretended not to notice.

It was the first night of the year and the first night of the next seven years for Harry. He was at peace despite his worries, he was careless for what seemed like ages but was only one night. In the end, he could have never predicted what the next seven years would hold.

But the future wasn’t so important, Harry for once felt no worries and instead felt hope.

“So what classes are you looking forward to?” Susan Bones asked after they had all taken a moment to pile their plates with unholy amounts of food.

“I’m really excited about Charms.” said a blonde boy, Ernie, Harry later found out.

“Me too, but I think I’m most excited about Transfiguration.” Susan added. 

“I can’t wait to get to Herbology, honestly, and not just because Professor Sprout is the Head of House.” Harry said.

“Why Herbology?” Ernie asked with a confused look on his face.

“It’s a peaceful class and quite frankly it seems much more pleasant than classes that are meant to prepare you for self defence or crafting poisons and cures for the same poisons.”

“Makes sense I suppose.” Ernie replied with a look on his face that said Harry was nothing like he had expected. 

“Maybe the three of us can partner up in classes,” Susan said trying to encourage the conversation and some budding friendships.

“Sounds good to me,” Harry and Ernie chimed at the same time with a small laugh afterward.

After this they focused on eating their supper and desserts while they could stuffing themselves to the point of borderline exhaustion.

When the plates finally cleared themselves to their original shimmering state Professor Dumbledore stood up and silenced the students and professors.

“Now that we’ve all been watered and fed I would like to go over a few rules. As always the Forbidden Forest is out of bounds and I would like to say that a few of our older students would do to remember that as well.” Dumbledore said glancing at the Weasley twins with a small smile. 

“Mr. Filch has also asked me to remind you all that a list of banned products can be found in his office.” 

“Finally, I would like to state that the third floor corridor is out of bounds to anyone who does not wish to die a painful death.” he said grimly.

“He can’t be serious can he?” Ernie whispered.

“Must be, I can’t imagine him joking about that.” Susan replied.

“Now, of to bed. Prefects please guide the first years to their rooms. Off you go.”

“First years follow me! Quickly now, don’t want to get stuck in a crowd.” a voice called over the heads of chattering students.

Susan quickly grabbed Harry’s and Ernie’s hands before dragging them to the middle of the front of the crowd to make sure they wouldn’t get lost.

“I wonder what the common room is like? Do you think it’s warm or should I ask my Auntie to send me some thicker socks?” Susan said.  
“I imagine it will be fairly warm but I don’t think a couple of pairs of nice socks would hurt anyway when winter rolls around.” Harry replied.

“Yeah that’s honestly not a bad idea maybe I should write home for a couple of extra pairs of socks.” Ernie said.

“Yeah I should probably write Moony and maybe ask him to send a few of his sweaters as well.” Harry added.

“Why not just get your own sweaters?” Ernie asked

“His are a lot softer, besides it reminds me of home.” Harry replied.

“Fair enough.” he nodded.

 

Remus sat staring at the wall with a glass of fire whiskey half drunk in his hand. He couldn’t understand how something like this could happen. Not to Sirius, not to Harry, or James, or Lily, or himself. Things like this happened during wars though whether they were fair or not. All he could do was wait for Harry to write back, to give him an answer that regardless he would have to respect. James and Lily may have been his closest friends but they were Harry’s parents and even if he couldn’t remember them it was up to Harry if they chose to reopen the investigation. 

He was about to put the glass away when there was a knock at the door.

Quickly he grabbed his wand and peeked through the window and saw that none other than Minerva McGonagall.

“Minnie, I wasn’t expecting you tonight, what brought you here.” He said letting her into the house.

“I thought I would drop in to tell you a couple of important things. First and foremost, Harry was sorted into Hufflepuff.” she said with a kind smile that not so long ago he wouldn’t have expected from her.

“That’s amazing! I’m so proud of him, he was really hoping to be sorted there.”

“I feel like I should also tell you that we have hidden the Philosopher’s Stone inside the school, I don’t think it should be kept near the children but Dumbledore insisted it was the safest place for it.”

“Really? Please tell me this isn’t what the Gringotts break in was about?”  
“If I did I would be a liar.”

“So Dumbledore thought that it would be a good idea to store something that someone successfully broke into Gringotts for in a school full of children? When anyone with common sense knows that Voldemort isn’t dead only thwarted and that would be an almost surefire way for him to regain power?” 

“Unfortunately, Mr. Lupin,” she said grimly “Still, you know he wouldn’t do this if he truly believed anyone was at risk.” 

“That’s not what matters, he fails to realize that no protection is full proof and putting something that could attract all sorts of dangers in a school is one of the worst decisions anyone could possibly make!”

“This is one of the few things I disagree with Albus on, which is why I felt compelled to let you know ahead of time. If Harry is anything like you all were as children he’ll find a way to cause some trouble with it.” 

“Harry is far different than any of us were. He may look like his parents but quite frankly he does as much to avoid the limelight as Gilderoy Lockhart does to be in it.”

“I will keep that in mind. I would love to stay and catch up but I should get back to school and get some rest, I’ve got a long year ahead of me.”

“Of course, you take care of yourself, and please watch out for Harry. He’s smart but he is often far too kind to really take care of himself.”

“Absolutely, goodnight Mr. Lupin.” 

“Goodnight, Minnie.”


	6. Chapter 6

6.)  
When the group reached the common room everyone looked confused for a moment. They were had a wall with some barrels piled in front of it.

“All right everyone pay close attention,” the prefect called over the chattering students. “To enter the common room you need to grab your wan and tap the third barrel from the right to the rhythm of Helga Hufflepuff. Please watch closely.”

After opening the door to the common room and allowing everyone to file in after him the prefect directed the students to their rooms.

“Boys please follow me to the left and I’ll help you all find your beds and get settled in. Girls please follow my fellow prefects to your rooms and she will help you get comfortable as well.”

With that Harry and Ernie split apart from Susan whose hands he just realized they had never stopped holding.

When Harry and Ernie reached their rooms he was immediately comforted. The beds were made with plush pillows and patchwork quilts with knit blankets sprawled across the foot of the bed. Quickly the prefect guided each of them to their beds and showed each of them where they could put their clothes and where their desks were.

“This weekend we will have some of the seventh year students help you all to rearrange the furniture if you would like some help moving things around. We should all be settling in soon though so I will see you in the morning. If you need anything at all throughout the night feel free to come find me in my dorm and I’ll help you with anything I can.”

With that he left the room and Harry quickly changed into his pajamas before crawling into his bed. As exhausted as he was after the meal he couldn’t fall asleep. He tossed and turned for what seemed like hours before crawling out of his own bed and creeping over to Ernie’s bed.

“Hey, Ernie? Are you still awake?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Can I sleep in your bed tonight?”

“Yeah, just grab your own blanket I tend to steal them when I sleep.”

“Thanks.”

“It’s no problem, now try to get some sleep.”

After sliding into the bed Harry closed his eyes and fell asleep for the first time in his new home.

The next morning Harry woke up to the prefect calling into the room for everyone to wake up so they would have time for breakfast.

Quickly he brushed his teeth and allowed himself to get dressed in his uniform which had transformed itself from plain black to having a yellow lining and tie. After grabbing his hat last minute Harry and Ernie rushed into the common room to meet Susan before breakfast.  
When Susan made her way down the stairs her hair was only half done and one of her braids was half fallen down.

“Are you okay Susan?”

“Yeah I’m just not a morning person.”

“Do you want me to fix your hair when we get to the Great Hall? I know how to do braids and ponytails.”

“That would be really helpful, thanks Harry.”

“It’s no problem.”

Perhaps, he should have known that he wouldn’t be allowed peace at Hogwarts, almost as soon as he had become comfortable in his spot at the table before fixing Susan’s hair, he was greeted by a blonde boy with striking grey eyes and hair so slick he perpetually looked like he had just taken a shower.

“The great Harry Potter is a little Hufflepuff? If I were you I’d just leave.”

“Maybe so, but at least I don’t immediately stereotype people based on their house.”

“At lea-”

“Oi, Malfoy why don’t you just go back to your table instead of spending your first night bullying people?” Ron interrupted. When he had made his way from the Gryffindor table Harry wasn’t sure but he most definitely wasn’t complaining about the support.

“What are you going to do Weasley,” Malfoy sneered, “Run to your brothers to protect you?”

“No, I’m going to support whatever course of action Harry decides on, be that telling a teacher or kicking your arse I don’t particularly care.”

“You know I’m not particularly shocked that a blood traitor would also be a tattletale.”

“Mr. Potter, is there something going on here?” a voice interrupted.

“Draco was just stopping by to try to insult Hufflepuff house but he’s going to have to try much harder especially since Ron stopped to help make sure things are okay.”

“Thank you for your honesty Harry. Five points from Slytherin and five points each to Hufflepuff and Gryffindor. Please return to your seats.”

“Yes, professor.” Draco and Ron said simultaneously rushing back to their own tables.

“Thank you professor.” Harry said.

“My pleasure, people would do well to not underestimate the lot of you.” she grinned fondly.

“I can say the same to you.” Harry said, having snuck into some of her classes when Aunt Minnie was teaching.

“Now you all better start eating you’re not going to go about learning on an empty stomach.” she said a bit sharper putting her teachers hat back on.

“Yes ma’am.” they all chimed in.

While Susan set about putting food on her and Harry’s plates Harry pulled her hair back into a quick braid finally enjoying the peace of the morning.

“So, first we have Transfiguration with Ravenclaw, then we have Potions,also with Ravenclaw after that we have about an hour and a half for lunch and to start homework.” Ernie said.

“Sounds good, want to finish eating real quick so that we can make sure we find our class on time,” Susan asked.

“Harry, where did you learn to braid hair like this.”

“I convinced Moony to grow out his hair with me so we could donate it to a muggle charity once. They use it to make wigs for sick kids so I thought it would be nice and we needed to keep our hair out of our faces.”

“That’s actually kinda sweet.”

“Honestly I miss the long hair sometimes.”

“Then why don’t you grow it out again?”

“Honestly, I don’t really know I just haven’t thought about it really.”

“Why don’t you do it while you’re here? It’s not so hard and at least you won’t have to worry about haircuts while you’re here.”

“I suppose I will.”

“Yay! When your hair gets long enough can I play with it.”

“Only if I get to mess with your hair too.”

“Deal!”

“What about you Ernie? Are you going to do anything with your hair?”

“I don’t know about growing it out but I might charm it to be a different color.”

“Ooh, that sounds fun! Do you know what color you want it to be?”

“Maybe blue? I’m not really sure yet.”

“Well let me know when you decide. I’ve learned a few charms for hair and I think I could do it for you.”

“Thanks, Susan.”

“No problem.”

With that they made their way to their Transfiguration and it was lucky they left early because after a few wrong turns and getting stuck on a flight of stairs they got to class with only a few minutes to spare.

“Good morning, Professor.” Harry said to the tabby cat sitting on McGonagall’s desk.

“What do you mean? She isn’t in here yet.” Ernie asked giving Harry a strange look.

“Yes, she is, she’s an animagus.” Harry said nonchalantly.

“Noted.” he said looking vaguely concerned.

A few moments later the rest of the class filed in and took their seats slowly some of them looking rather winded. They must have gotten stuck on the stairs too, Harry thought.

When it was time for class to start the class waited patiently but after a few moments some of the students started to whisper wondering where Professor McGonagall was.

“Do you know where she is?” asked a plump girl from Ravenclaw.  
“Not a clue.” Answered a pale Hufflepuff girl.

“Maybe it’s a trick.” Asked another Hufflepuff boy.

“Not at all Mr. Johnson.” McGonagall interrupted, having moved from her place on the desk while the students were whispering amongst themselves.

“Today we will begin by turning beetles into buttons, please listen closely.”

As they went through the class slowly but surely almost everyone was able to completely transfigure their beetle and those who weren’t had already arranged for study groups.

“Next time I see you all I want a foot of parchment on proper techniques for transfiguring living creatures.”

And with that they left their class left together for the dungeons, having decided they were less likely to get lost if they went as a group.

As they plodded along Remus was pacing back and forth across the living room regardless of the fact that he slept less the night before than he did before the full moon.

Even if he wanted to he couldn’t have sat still though because he wasn’t currently awaiting Amelia’s visit and he could hardly do anything else than think about what to do about Sirius and Peter. He continued pacing for what seemed like an infinity but couldn’t have been more than 10 minutes when there was a knock at the door.

Quickly, Remus went for the door to greet Amelia only to find an unexpected visitor.

“Tonks? What are you doing here?”

“I thought I’d drop by, I haven’t seen you or Harry since Christmas and I wanted to know how his sorting went.”

“Oh, well good news for you is he got sorted into Hufflepuff.”

“Brilliant! I knew the boy had potential!”

“What can I say he looks up to you quite a bit.”

“Well of course he does I’m amazing!”

“Yes, you are.” Remus chuckled.

Just a few moments into their conversation there was another knock at the door, only this time it was Amelia instead of another unexpected guest.

“Hello, Amelia.”

“Hello Remus, Tonks.” she greeted.

“Would you like a cup of tea?” he asked, mostly out of politeness.

“That would be lovely Remus. Tonks, dear, how are you? It’s been too long.”

“Yes it has!” Tonks laughed out, “I’ve been rather well just getting about finishing up training, Moody keeps us busy.”

“Oh, I’m sure he hasn’t been quite the same since he was hit with that curse back in ‘83” she said with a small smile.

“Yeah I’d say that he does alright though, as much has he can at least.”

“Here you two go,” Remus said, whilst setting down the tray of tea.”

“Remus, shall we begin?”

“I suppose so, Tonks, I apologize for what we’re about to discuss and if you would like to leave first you can.” He said apologetically.

“Well you have to tell me what’s being discussed before I can make that decision.” she responded still with that characteristic snark.

“We’re talking about Sirius,” he said solemnly.

“O-oh” she said, “Well no sense in stopping on my account let’s hear it.”

And so, he filled her in saying, “Sirius was framed. I got a scheduled letter from James and Lily last night. Sent by Gringotts, apparently, it was Peter Pettigrew that was the secret keeper, not Sirius as everyone would have had us believe.” 

“Does the ministry or anyone else know about this?” Tonks asked incredulously.

“Not anyone that we know of but I’ve sent a letter to Harry explaining it as well as I can and you know goblins tend to stay out of wizarding business regardless of what they know.” he sighed.

“The thing is under wizarding law since Sirius pursued Pettigrew and as far as we’re aware killed him at worst he’s entitled to a resentencing unless Harry claims Sirius was avenging the Potter heir for their untimely murders. Of course, that’s all up to Harry and we don’t want to pressure him into anything.” Amelia explained further.

“I see. I this is a lot for Harry to have to hear. It’s hard for anyone to hear. I mean I feel like I should tell mum but I don’t know if it’s really my place.” she responded.

“If you’d like to you can, at this point we’re just discussing potential routes we could take with this based on the choice Harry makes.”

“Yeah, I-I think I should. Thank you Remus for having me and Amelia I’ll make sure to visit more often but you see I’ve really gotta go.” Tonks said heading over to the fireplace choosing to floo rather than apparate this time.

“Anytime, why don’t you and your parents come over for dinner Saturday and we can all discuss this further we oughta know more by then.” Remus said as she stepped into the hearth. 

“ I will, goodbye.” she said disappearing into the flames.

“Poor girl, and poor Andy god knows how she’s going to react. I hope for Tonks’ sake she doesn’t think it’s some sort of trick.” Amelia murmered.

“I’ll write Andy this evening and by then Harry will probably have gotten the letter.” Remus answered.

“So, in the worst case scenario, what can we do for Sirius?” 

“Well despite his supposed crime he’s still in a relatively low security cell. At least, by Azkaban standards. He’s still allowed mail so you could write him, and he could demand an appeal with new evidence submitted by you which will bring it further into his favor and it would be a lot of work but we could get one of the head goblins to confirm that the letter was in fact written and scheduled by James and Lily.”

“I see and past that is there anything?”

“Either you would have to hire a lawyer or you would have to pray one chooses to defend him pro bono for the publicity of it all. Past that it’s all a popularity contest. Everything in the ministry is so it’s really what they think will work in their own favor.”  
“Oh, right, thank you for everything, Amy. I really appreciate everything you’re doing to help and just being here.” Remus said, standing up, signalling the end of their meeting.

“Of course, I really must go but please take care of yourself and keep me updated.” She said reaching out for a hug that he gladly returned.

“I’ll let you know as soon as anything new comes up. Stay safe” he smiled and showed her out the door.

He had a strong feeling, one that he could blame on his wolf or on common intuition, but somehow he knew that this was only the beginning to something much bigger.


	7. Chapter 7

After a potions class that was for the most part uneventful aside from Professor Snape’s apparent distaste for any and all students (especially with regards to Harry for some reason Harry didn’t quite understand and would have to ask Aunt Minnie about when he went to visit her that weekend) Harry was walking to lunch with Ernie and Susan, happily awaiting the letter he was expecting from Moony.

“I wonder why Professor Snape teaches? He seems to hate everyone except the Slytherins and even then he’s hardly any warmer than a yeti.” Susan said aloud breaking the happy silence the trio was walking in.

“I wish I could say, maybe he’s just going through something personal?” Harry replied not really wanting to believe that anyone could be so bitter.

“Well hopefully whatever it is he stops taking it out on everyone else.” Ernie muttered. 

By the time they reached the Great Hall some owls were already flying through searching for the recipient of whatever they happened to be carrying and whenever took his spot up at the end of the Hufflepuff table he saw an all too familiar barn owl flying towards him with a prouder look than he had seen on anyone’s face in ages, and that was including Draco Malfoy.

When the owl landed in front of Harry he was nipping at his hand demanding attention before releasing the letter he had firmly under his feet. Harry didn’t really mind the owls need for attention though, because it reminded him just a bit more of being home. So he spent a good 10 minutes petting Bobo (he came up with the name when he was eight give him a break) and whispering praises to the owl before it stole a piece of toast off his plate and flew off to Merlin knows where.  
Eagerly Harry opened the letter unaware of the eyes peering over his shoulder in curiosity, as both Susan and Ernie had already opened their mail. 

As he read what Remus had written only a few days before the color drained from his face and he barely registered his friends hands resting on his shoulders. Harry of course had never been under the impression that the ministry was competent but everybody including Dumbledore had confirmed Remus’s greatest fear, that his best friend, had aided in the murder people who had supported them the most and then went off and killed their other friend himself.

“Harry… Sprout... walk with you...okay…” the words that were being spoken to him weren’t registering so he allowed himself to be guided from his seat and walked to Hagrid’s hut where Professor Sprout liked to spend her lunches where there was good tea and conversation. 

About 10 minutes later Harry found himself seated at a little wooden table with an oversized dog resting its head on his lap. Wordlessly he handed the letter over to Professor Sprout who handed the letter to Hagrid who ran to fetch McGonagall and Dumbledore. In the meantime Professor Sprout was speaking to Susan and Ernie in hushed tones discussing the best way to help Harry get through the next few days and what to expect because “You guys know how serious this is?” “Regardless of the choice he makes Harry will be under a lot of stress and he will probably need a little more from you two for a bit.” 

A few moments later Professor Sprout walked over to the table heating up fireplace to try to help Harry a bit more comfortable.

“Harry are you okay?” She said and after a moment of no response she tried again, “Harry do you know where you are?”.

“Hagrid’s,” Harry said in a hardly audible voice, but as far as everyone was concerned a distant answer was better than him being completely absent.

“I’m not going to try to tell you what you need to do or what you need to feel about what, what I will tell you is that you shouldn’t have to deal with this, nobody should, but you do and whatever help you need I will do my best to provide that help for you.”

“I just want to know why.” Harry said, but it wasn’t a question because he knew no explanation could ever make him understand what makes someone betray the people who matter most to them, or the people who should, the people who called them family, friend, brother. No explanation would bring his parents back, or give him back the chance of a life with all of his aunts and uncles. No explanation could repair everything that was broken by some words and a feeble attempt at self preservation through betrayal.

“I don’t think I can give you an answer.” Sprout said knowing that an answer wasn’t something that would actually help.   
And so they all sat quietly Ernie and Susan sat on either side of Harry with a blanket draped around all of their shoulders at Ernie’s request. The small but wondrous attempt to take care of someone who he barely knew but knew from the moment that he asked to sleep in his bed that he would fight for.

Ernie knew that Harry was different but when he thought of that he never thought of The Boy Who Lived, instead he thought of the boy who kept his head down through the sorting ceremony, who didn’t seek out any sort of attention, who was more than happy to just sit in a room with some tea, a few books and some friends and not leave for the whole day. Ernie knew that all of the predictions and theories he had heard throughout his life couldn’t have been more wrong. Harry wasn’t a savior and he wasn’t a villain he was a boy who survived the impossible and was given more expectations before he reached two years old because of that than most people would ever have placed on them in their lifetimes. Ernie saw someone who wasn’t keen on their lot in life who would trade all of the fame and glory for a chance at a quiet life and despite being only a boy himself he had decided that he would stand by Harry until the end of the world itself. 

When Hagrid returned with McGonagall and Dumbledore as he originally intended he also brought with him the other heads of houses Snape and Flitwick slightly shocking Ernie because he figured that outside of the few of them it would stay as quiet as possible but he would soon come to learn that nothing inside Hogwarts stays quiet for long. 

“Professor Sprout, can you please come explain what’s going on?” Dumbledore asked, somehow still maintaining his grandfatherly facade.

So she walked over and while they all huddled together having their whispered conversations Susan asked, “Does either of you want any tea? I know it won’t help but it certainly can’t hurt.” 

“Yeah actually, I’ll help you and we can get enough going for everyone hopefully.” Ernie answered knowing that Harry was back in his head too far to respond. Standing up and wrapping his side of the blanket around Harry’s shoulders he began digging up cups and tea leaves while Susan set the water to boil and within the next 15 minutes they had cups made for everyone and were sat back with Harry slipping a cup into his hands to try to remind him that he was in the world and not just his head.

And like that they sat for so long they would’ve lost track of time if it weren’t for the clock on the wall not caring when their next classes came and went several students wondering why their teachers weren’t in the classrooms but most choosing to take advantage of the situation and skip to hangout or get a jumpstart on work before they let themselves fall behind again.

In any other situation the wait for answers and direction may have been too much for the kids but with what they had learned they could have sat still a century without budging but thankfully they didn’t have to and eventually everyone returned to their work except Dumbledore, Professors McGonagall and Sprout, and Hagrid who all took seats around the table finally including them in the discussion.

“I assume you both read the letter considering you thought to bring Harry down here both to his head of house and away from the other students.” Professor McGonagall asked taking on the stern tone she often used not because of dislike but to encourage clear answers.

“Yes professor” Susan answered for the two of them “ basically as soon as he read it he went next to unresponsive he’s practically just running of instinct and even then only when you kinda nudge him into it so we thought it would be best.” 

“Well that was a very wise choice from the both of you and I’m sure when Harry is able to be all the way here he’ll appreciate it too.” She answered allowing a kind smile to appear on her face for just a moment before Dumbledore took over the conversation.

“Do the two of you know who Sirius Black is and what exactly makes this so important?”

“Sirius was the Potter’s secret keeper right? The one who supposedly outed them to You Know Who?” Ernie answered.

“Right he’s been in Azkaban for the last 9 years for a crime that it seems he did not commit. Now it seems that as the sole heir to the Potter family and it being his guardian’s request that he be the one who has the final decision on whether the proceed to fight for Sirius’s release.”

“Right,” Susan and Ernie both said having a feeling that there was some sort of motive to his technical phrasing.

“The issue is that Mr.Potter doesn’t seem able to make a reasonable decision at the moment so I think it’s best that I keep the letters under watch for now.” 

“That’s very kind of you Professor Dumbledore sir, but I think that if anyone is going to keep an eye on that letter it will either be the two of us or I will write my Aunt Amelia at the ministry and ask her to keep it guarded until Harry is ready to make a decision.” Susan said, using the voice she had heard her aunt use on stubborn coworkers more than once, and although it sounded a bit comical coming from an eleven year old it got the point across that she wouldn’t be trifled with.

“Very well Miss Bones,” Dumbledore said pleasantly although the familiar twinkle in his eye was gone “I trust you will keep it safe.”

“Trust me sir, we will.” Susan stated assuredly.  
“I trust you two can take Harry to the infirmary to rest?” he asked.

“I’d feel better if someone could show us the way Professor, neither of us have been before.” Ernie replied.

“Of course and I’d say we’re very fortunate neither of you has managed to wind up there so far!” Dumbledore laughed his airy laugh, “Professor Sprout can escort you before she makes her way to teach her next class.”

“That would be brilliant, and Mr. Hagrid I’m truly sorry we barged into your house and drank up your tea.” Susan said in her slightly too polite voice, although it became genuine when she began addressing Hagrid.

“Eh, it’s not a problem, the folks down in Hogsmeade always have some on sale. An’ Madame Rosmerta gives me what her sister gifts her cause it’s always some fancy floral tea she’s allergic she just can’t be bothered to tell her.”

“Still I’m truly sorry, maybe we could come visit under less serious circumstances.” she continued.

“That would be great now you lot oughta head out so Madame Pomfrey can get him back in working order.”

“Right! See you around!” the two called as they helped haul Harry out of the cozy hut trailing slowly behind Professor Sprout with the chill of fall beginning to cut through the air.


	8. Chapter 8

Remus was starting to get worried at this point. Never had Harry taken so long to respond to anything before. Even when he didn’t know what to say he would at least tell him that until he had decided on something.

And so, Remus sat and paced and and sat once more until to his surprise a small silver tabby cat with all too familiar markings on the eyes bounded through the door to say the worst thing he could imagine. “Harry is in the hospital wing as a result of the news about Sirius I think it’s best you get here as soon as you can.”.

“Remus didn’t hesitate to run to the floo, he didn’t bother with changing out of his sweatpants or even with attempting to smooth down his hair, within seconds he was in Dumbledore’s office completely ignoring him and making his way to the hospital wing which didn’t take him more then 5 minutes considering he was a Marauder and even without the map he knew all of the secret passages like the back of his hand.

When he reached the hospital wing he saw Amelia’s niece and a boy he didn’t know sat on the foot of Harry’s bed but he couldn’t be bothered to wonder about that, instead he was at the side of the bed with Dumbledore calmly trailing behind him before they could say quidditch. Harry barely responded to Remus and only leaned in to his side when he pulled him into a hug.

Within moments Harry was crying into Remus’ shoulder while Remus whispered assurances quietly and after a few moments Ernie and then Susan both wrapped themselves around Harry forming a small huddle that after about half an hour had managed to calm Harry enough that he could at the very least acknowledge the people around him. 

“Why?” 

“I don’t know Prongslet. I wish- I wish I knew, that there was some rational explanation but I don’t think there is.”

“We have to get him out of there.” he heaved out.

“Are you sure? There will be a lot of focus on you, on all of us.”

“They can do what they want I’m not going to let someone rot in prison because I’m scared.”

“You know Harry, you might be the strongest young man I’ve ever known.” Remus said with a calm smile on his friendly face.

“Oh shut up, I’ve not even been sleeping in my own bed since I’ve come here I’ve been sharing Ernie’s.” he sniffled.

“Well I’ll tell you a secret, your Uncle Padfoot refused to sleep in his own bed for the first three years we spent at school and he’s so, so strong. There are so many brave witches and wizards out there and sometimes they’re the people you would least expect.” Remus stage whispered to all three of the kids in his own way telling Ernie and Susan that for caring for Harry that they were family.

“Really? What if I’m never able to sleep alone though?”

“Don’t you worry about that Harry,” Ernie interjected “If we have to we’ll just rearrange the dorm and shove the beds together so there’s enough room.”

“Have I ever told you guys that you’re the best?” he smiled.  
“You don’t have to.” Susan grinned.

And so the group sat like that for quite a while unaware of the watchful eyes of a cloaked Albus Dumbledore. Oh so many plans would have to be altered because of these people and he wasn’t quite sure if he was comfortable with it. Plans and battles and romances all planned and predicted decades ahead and he could only watch as such little, oblivious people disrupted all of these grand moments.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter is so short but it's more for development and background then major plot development at least as I see the story going for now.


End file.
